Durbin, Duckworth Announce $218 Million for Illinois Colleges to Provide Emergency Aid to Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded $218 million to Illinois institutions of higher education for emergency financial aid to students. The funding - which comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act - will be used to provide cash grants to students for expenses related to disruptions to their educations due t… Continue Reading

Illinois Democratic Congressional Delegation to Trump Administration: Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases & Deaths are Unacceptable

WASHINGTON - Today, the Democratic members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar expressing strong concerns regarding the racial disparities that exist in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Illinois and across the nation. The members cited that while black residents make up nearly 15 percent of the state's total population, they account for 43 percent of all COVID-19 deaths. The situation in Chicago is further … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Discuss DOD Coronavirus Response With Defense Secretary Esper

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee, today spoke with Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the military's COVID-19 response efforts. During today's call, Durbin and Duckworth pressed Secretary Esper for military personnel to help staff the field hospital at McCormick Place in Chicago. Five hundred beds are available at the… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COVID-19 Relief Bill With Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges and Universities

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke with the Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges and Universities (FIICU) President Dave Tretter about provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that will offer support to private, not-for-profit colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the call, Durbin discussed the Education Stabilization Fund, established by the CARES Act, which will provide direct assistance to institutions of … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bipartisan Senators Press USDA to Provide Relief for Local Farmers During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and a bipartisan group of Senators in urging the Trump Administration to provide relief for local farmers who are struggling as the nation works to combat the spread of COVID-19. In a letter sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senators urged USDA to ensure that a portion of the $9.5 billion they sec… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COVID-19 & CARES Act Relief with United Way of Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial relief for nonprofits in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act with United Way of Illinois and leaders of nonprofit organizations. Durbin spoke about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the CARES Act that can provide assistance through forgivable, 100 percent guaranteed loans to eligible small businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofits with less than 500 emplo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Democratic Colleagues Press Trump Administration to Ensure Workers Receive Unemployment Benefits

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in leading 30 of their Democratic colleagues today in pressing the Department of Labor to ensure workers Congress intended to be covered by the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program receive the benefits they deserve. "[P]arts of the guidance appear narrow or ambiguous, which could make states think they need to exclude workers who Congress clearly intended to r… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on DeVos Settlement in Borrower Defense Lawsuit

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education promised to process student loan forgiveness claims for nearly 170,000 borrowers within 18 months as part of a proposed settlement announced Friday in a federal lawsuit: "One hundred seventy thousand defrauded student loan borrowers won big yesterday in federal court thanks to a settlement that forces Secretary DeVos to finally process claims for relief. Ho… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $1.2 Billion in CARES Act Funding for Illinois Hospitals and Health Providers

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Illinois hospitals and health providers a total of $1,204,103,180 in grant funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide relief and support ongoing treatment efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's funding is part of the CARES Act's "Marshall Pan," which included $100 billion for hospi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Discuss COVID-19 Response In Illinois with Army Secretary McCarthy

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee, spoke with U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy today to discuss the Army's COVID-19 response efforts in Illinois. Durbin and Duckworth asked about operations at the McCormick Place Field Hospital and ongoing U.S. Army efforts to support Illinois frontline health care workers.… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Press Trump Administration for Information on Distribution of Critical Medical Supplies

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, today raised serious concerns about the Trump Administration's reliance on private companies to distribute desperately needed medical supplies during the Coronavirus pandemic. Although the President has declared a national emergency and mobilized the Federal Emergency Management Agenc… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COVID-19 Response With Protect Our Care Illinois Chapter

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Protect Our Care Illinois Chapter, a leading statewide group of Affordable Care Act (ACA), consumer, and health care advocates. Durbin spoke about the provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that have helped increase health care access and coverage and protect frontline health care workers fighting the pandemic in Illinois. Durbin also discussed what … Continue Reading

Durbin to SBA: Allow Farms and AG Businesses to Access EIDL Program

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) to allow farms and agricultural businesses suffering economic injury due to COVID-19 be acknowledged as eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The EIDL program provides low-interest federal loans of up to $2 million, which may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that cannot be paid due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to A… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Urge Admin to Increase Access to Doctors in Rural and Other Medically Underserved Areas

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and colleagues in both the House and the Senate, wrote a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the Administration to resume premium processing for physicians seeking employment-based visas. Doctors on these visas increase access to health care, especially rural areas, through the Conrad 30 program, which allows foreign medical schoo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Peters, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Ensure Transit Workers Receive Essential Protective Equipment

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Gary Peters (MI), along with 19 of their Senate colleagues, today urged the Trump Administration to ensure that transit agencies can acquire personal protective equipment for their frontline workers. In a letter to Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) K. Jane Williams, the Senators cited the story of Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove, who passed away from Coronavirus after he expressed his concern about the disease an… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Discuss COVID-19 Response with Chicago Mayor Lightfoot

SPRINGFIELD - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke with Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot about Chicago's COVID-19 pandemic response and how they can continue to assist her efforts to protect Illinoisans. Durbin and Duckworth discussed strategies to support minority and women owned businesses, protecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, protecting frontline transit workers and investing in infrastructure to help get people back to work,… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren, Colleagues Urge Education Department to Protect CARES Act Funds from Predatory For-Profit College Industry

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), sent a letter to the Department of Education requesting clarification on whether it will allow for-profit colleges to be eligible for funding in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which establishes the $14 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to aid students and stabilize colleges and universities impacted by the CO… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call for Expanding Coronavirus Testing Capability by Providing Flexibility to Testing Laboratories

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), today called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide additional regulatory flexibility to hospitals and private laboratories to enable scaled-up testing capacity for the novel coronavirus. Even as rapid testing is becoming available, hospitals are still facing delays in obtaining patient results and comme… Continue Reading

Durbin to SBA & Treasury: Prioritize Financial Needs of Small Businesses in Underserved & Rural Communities

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Department of Treasury to prioritize the financial needs of small businesses in underserved and rural markets when processing and disbursing loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. In a letter to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Durbin asked the agencies to quickly issue guidance to lenders and agents that clearly outlines how lenders can best s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $52 Million in Federal Funding to Help Illinois Health Centers Respond to COVID-19

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive a total of $52,697,049 in federal grants to support 45 Community Health Centers (CHCs) in their COVID-19 response efforts. This funding comes from the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that both Durbin and Duckworth voted for to help increase COVID-19 screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and protective equipment, and boost telehe… Continue Reading